Next generation network leaders awarded

11 August 2008

Next generation network leaders awarded

New Zealand tertiary students exemplifying excellence and innovation in the use of KAREN were recognised at the APAN26 conference in Queenstown.

Sponsored by InternetNZ and Endace, the APAN26 KAREN Student Innovation Competition invited students to produce an e-poster showcasing innovative use and application of KAREN, the Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network.

“This competition is about supporting emerging New Zealand talent who are employing next generation advanced networking tools and applications, and making the most of what KAREN has to offer. We are so pleased to have been able, with the support of InternetNZ and Endace, to recognise this talent,” said Donald Clark, CEO of REANNZ.

The winners are Aaron Wilson, University of Auckland (1st place), Rick Henry, University of Auckland (2nd place), and Peter Li, University of Otago (3rd place).

“As we know with many technologies, adoption and adaptation starts from the ground up. This is exactly the same with KAREN. These students are leading the way in the development and use of KAREN enabled technologies, applications and services, and are helping to embed KAREN as essential research and education infrastructure,” said Donald.

Keith Davidson, Executive Director of InternetNZ said, “It was an honour to present these awards. We are delighted to sponsor this competition to recognise these students, and to support REANNZ and KAREN. Our congratulations and best hopes for the future go to the winners.”

Mike Riley, CEO of Endace said, “Endace is delighted to support this initiative and we congratulate all applicants and in particular the winners announced at APAN last week. Innovation and collaboration are the cornerstones of KAREN, and students continue to astound us with their vision and creativity in putting the network to greater and greater use.”

APAN26 was the 26th gathering of the Asia Pacific Advanced Network Consortium that brought together over 300 people for showcasing advanced broadband networking applications and technologies for research, education and innovation. See http://www.karen.net.nz/apan26/.

Winner poster descriptions

1st prize = Aaron Wilson

Aaron is a PhD student with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Auckland, and part of the NZNEES group (New Zealand Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulations).

Aaron’s winning poster describes the use of KAREN for field testing of buildings. NZNEES@Auckland is developing a Mobile Field Laboratory, permitting large scale field experiments to be conducted and controlled remotely. Via KAREN, national and international researchers can participate in the in-field tests.

The utilisation of KAREN for this research project will promote sustainability by reducing the need for travel, sharing worldwide expertise to maximise research potential and promoting international research collaborations.

2nd prize = Rick Henry

Rick is also a PhD student with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Auckland.

Rick is part of an international collaboration involving the United States, Taiwan and the NZNEES group. His poster details how telepresence tools, made possible through KAREN, have been used to enable remote participation in the experimental test conducted in Taiwan. These tools have reduced the need for travel and allowed access to state of the art overseas laboratory facilities.

3rd prize = Peter Li

Peter is a studying for a degree in Applied with honours in Telecommunication, with the Information Science Department at the University of Otago.

Peter’s e-poster described his research project which is about monitoring social interactions online virtual worlds, such as Second Life.

ENDS

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